Meet the Australians who will take on the World’s best this NBA Season

With the NBA about to start, anticipation has escalated with each passing day. Many questions arise with this new season, can the Warriors defend their title or can Lebron finally bring a title back to Cleveland, and so on.

However what’s exciting for Australian basketball fans is the abundance of local players participating in the best league in the world.

Meet the Aussies who will take on the worlds best in the 2015-16 NBA Season:

Cameron Bairstow (Chicago Bulls)

Under previous head coach Tom Thibodeau and his known reputation for reluctance in playing rookies, the 24 year old was rarely used during the season.

Despite new coach Fred Hoiberg now in place, his spot was still uncertain as his contract was only partially guaranteed heading into the season. However after surviving the cut, the 6 Ft 9 in Australian will suit up for the Bulls.

While he will might get some more playing time than the previous year, don’t expect much exposure for this second year player.

With the Bulls boasting Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, Nikola Mirotic, Pau Gasol and impressive rookie Bobby Portis there seems to be very small minutes to share to these five, let alone Bairstow.

Aron Baynes (Detroit Pistons)

Baynes joines a number of Spur graduates who used the system of the great Gregg Popovich to score an impressive new contract. In this case he secured a three year $20 million deal.

With him being used sparingly during his tenure in San Antonio, he will relish the consistent minutes he will receive during this season.

Now being the primary backup to Andre Drummond, it will be interesting to see if he can still produce despite being out of the Spur background. Numerous players have tried and failed, hopefully for the Australian it will be a different story.

Andrew Bogut (Golden State Warriors)

The former number one pick in 2005, has endured numerous injury toiled seasons. However his last two seasons in particular has seen the centre play at least 67 games.

Despite being a non-factor in the NBA Finals series due to the use of small ball, the man was a crucial piece for the Warriors during the regular season and playoffs.

While his primary stats of 6.3 points and 8.1 rebounds don’t say much, the value of this man is much more than stats for this team.

While they boast impressive defensive players in Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, the anchor is Bogut and therefore he is needed if a defence of their NBA Title can be done.

Matthew Dellavedova (Cleveland Cavaliers)

The undrafted player from St. Mary’s caught the attention of fans everywhere during the NBA playoffs last season.

With his fearless play and continuous diving for loose balls, he helped the Cavaliers tremendously. This included his impressive few games where he started for the injured Kyrie Irving in the NBA Finals.

However despite his heroics during the post-season, if everyone remains fully fit he won’t have the luxury of the minutes he received last season.

With Irving starting and Mo Williams being the primary back up, the season will see Dellavedova being the third string point guard.

But as we’ve seen so far in his career, when his name will get called up during the season he will give everything in his power for the Cavaliers as they chase that title.

Joe Ingles (Utah Jazz)

The man who went undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft played around the world before finally cracking the NBA last season.

After impressing for the Los Angeles Clippers in the pre-season, the Utah Jazz happily claimed him off waivers.

Not only did he play all but three games, but he started 32 games as head coach Quin Snyder trusted his three point acumen as well as his passing ability.

However his stats are not the only important factor, he also became the locker room leader for these young Jazz players and that helped the 28 year old secure a multi-year contract this off season.

After the side had the NBA best end to the season, having the locker room presence as well as his three point shooting will be pivotal for their shot to the playoffs.

Patty Mills (San Antonio Spurs)

After requiring shoulder surgery during the off season last year, it seemed the Aussie was always playing catch up during the regular season.

However with Cory Joseph now with the Toronto Raptors, Mills should expect consistent back up minutes now that he is back to full fitness and strength.

We all know how key he was on the bench with his lightning speed, tenacious defense and three point skills being pivotal in their NBA success in 2014.

Honourable Mention: Dante Exum (Utah Jazz)

After an impressive Summer League appearance as well as strong training camp play, the Utah Jazz were extremely excited to see the second year player blossom into a star they were expecting when they drafted him fifth overall.

However disaster struck and the youngster tore his ACL during an international match with the Boomers.

He underwent successful surgery to repair the torn ligament in September however he is ruled out for the entire 2015-16 season.

Despite that, expect to see him the following season with hopefully his speed and strength back after his third year option was exercised by the Jazz.

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